Philly says DC 33 strike is crowding the morgue as it seeks injunction to get medical examiner's employees back

CBS News

a day ago

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Cooled storage for dead bodies is getting crowded, and there is a "backlog" of cadavers that need to be examined in Philadelphia's morgue amid an ongoing labor strike, attorneys for the city said in a court filing Thursday.
As the AFSCME DC 33 strike continues in its third day, the city filed documents in the county Court of Common Pleas seeking an injunction to compel 31 union members in the Medical Examiner's Office to return to work.
The strike began at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, and soon after, every employee on the clock at the 24/7 office walked off the job, according to the city's court filing, which includes statements from Chief Medical Examiner Lindsay Simon.
The members on strike include medicological death investigators, forensic technicians, and investigators, as well as clerical and service staff.
Since the strike, the cold storage in the office has been filling up with bodies, numbering 180 as of the morning of July 1.
"The MEO is currently operating over capacity with two bodies per bed," Simon wrote.
Simon added that in ideal conditions, the storage should contain no more than 160 bodies.
Not having the DC 33 employees working also means death investigations are delayed, which could increase the backlog further. This could also jeopardize the prompt transportation and refrigeration of bodies to the refrigerated storage areas, the document states.
"If MEO is unable to properly attend to the sudden, unexpected, and/or suspicious deaths within Philadelphia, there will be numerous dead bodies sitting in homes and on street corners without staff to transport them to the refrigerated morgue storage areas," the document reads.
They also note that dead bodies contain high volumes of bacteria and potentially live viruses, can attract insects and rodents that also carry viruses and bacteria, and pose a public health hazard when not properly handled.
DC 33 President Greg Boulware told CBS News Philadelphia the injunction is proof that the union's workers provide the most important functions of a city, and that the situation could be resolved by paying the workers an adequate wage. He urged the city to come back to the negotiating table and offer a fair wage to the union members.
Judges have sided with the city in previous injunction requests during this week's strike. After just one day, 911 dispatchers were ordered back to work as their services were deemed critical to the city's safety.
About 70 Philadelphia Water Department employees were also ordered to return to work via injunction. And a judge also granted an injunction compelling the union to stop picketing that was deemed disruptive to services.
contributed to this report.